The Record: Seeds of hate

The Record

ANOTHER SENSELESS act of violence barely rises to the level of news any more. There have been too many shootings, stabbings and bombings for society to take note of another unless it reaches epic proportions. Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings. Yet the fatal shootings Sunday in Kansas of three people, allegedly by a known racist, have stunned many. While there is no good news in the telling of this tragedy, at least our collective humanity has not yet died.

Frazier Glenn Miller Jr. has been known to law enforcement for years as a white supremacist. He was arrested, using the name Frazier Glenn Cross, for shooting and killing three people outside a Jewish community center and a Jewish senior living center in Overland Park, Kan. One of the victims was only 14 years old. None was Jewish.

Miller, 73, has been described as pleasant and nice by neighbors. That was artifice. Miller has a long history with the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist organizations. He served time in federal prison. Yet current acquaintances were surprised that he allegedly turned violent. Not all hate speech leads to physical acts of violence, but all hate speech is a form of violence.

Miller advocated for the extermination of Jews. That his alleged victims were not even Jewish is a reminder how hatred unleashed is non-discriminatory. That this occurred right before the beginning of Passover raised new security concerns for Jews across the nation. But we all should be concerned. In early 2012, synagogues in Bergen County were firebombed. There is no completely safe place.

And there are no easy answers. Whether hatred is fueled by race, religion or sexual orientation, it needs to be challenged. The greatness of our free society is its ability to allow individuals to say what they think. But there is a line that cannot be crossed, as we are reminded that all too often, it is indeed crossed.

Somehow, we need to see the signs sooner — before another murder suspect is placed in the back of a police car shouting "Heil, Hitler."

The Record: Seeds of hate

The Record

ANOTHER SENSELESS act of violence barely rises to the level of news any more. There have been too many shootings, stabbings and bombings for society to take note of another unless it reaches epic proportions. Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings. Yet the fatal shootings Sunday in Kansas of three people, allegedly by a known racist, have stunned many. While there is no good news in the telling of this tragedy, at least our collective humanity has not yet died.

Frazier Glenn Miller Jr. has been known to law enforcement for years as a white supremacist. He was arrested, using the name Frazier Glenn Cross, for shooting and killing three people outside a Jewish community center and a Jewish senior living center in Overland Park, Kan. One of the victims was only 14 years old. None was Jewish.

Miller, 73, has been described as pleasant and nice by neighbors. That was artifice. Miller has a long history with the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist organizations. He served time in federal prison. Yet current acquaintances were surprised that he allegedly turned violent. Not all hate speech leads to physical acts of violence, but all hate speech is a form of violence.

Miller advocated for the extermination of Jews. That his alleged victims were not even Jewish is a reminder how hatred unleashed is non-discriminatory. That this occurred right before the beginning of Passover raised new security concerns for Jews across the nation. But we all should be concerned. In early 2012, synagogues in Bergen County were firebombed. There is no completely safe place.

And there are no easy answers. Whether hatred is fueled by race, religion or sexual orientation, it needs to be challenged. The greatness of our free society is its ability to allow individuals to say what they think. But there is a line that cannot be crossed, as we are reminded that all too often, it is indeed crossed.

Somehow, we need to see the signs sooner — before another murder suspect is placed in the back of a police car shouting "Heil, Hitler."